


Not As Pretentious As You Seem

by DrayPotter_TFLS (DrayOakenshield)



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Alternate Universe - Coffee Shops & Cafés, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Alternate Universe - Muggle, Alternate Universe - Soulmates, M/M, Soulmate-Identifying Marks, Tooth-Rotting Fluff
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-02-08
Updated: 2018-02-13
Packaged: 2019-03-15 10:18:19
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 5,086
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13611303
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/DrayOakenshield/pseuds/DrayPotter_TFLS
Summary: Remus thought he would hate the person who gave him his soulmark from the first time it appeared. It turns out first impressions aren't always right.





	1. First and Second Impressions

**Author's Note:**

> I blame my friends JenCala and Starstruck4Moony for this lovely bit of fluff that completely got away from me. What was supposed to be a one-shot will now be at least 2 chapters, maybe 3 if these two don't shut up.

Remus traced the words written in tight neat handwriting that had appeared on his right forearm just after his thirteenth birthday. When he first felt the burn of his soulmates first words to him appearing on his skin he was excited but when the burning kept going for what felt like forever he vowed that he was going to kill the asshole who would be pretentious enough to order something like that. 

“Earth to Remus! I need you to take the register for a minute!” His coworker Chris said, waving a hand in front of his face to pull him out of his thoughts.

“Yeah I can do that, sorry Chris.” Remus agreed, offering a small smile as he stepped up to the register to let Chris go get some water and looked at the dark haired man on the other side of the counter. Before Remus could open is mouth to ask what the man wanted he started rattling off an order Remus was all too familiar with.

“Give me a venti hazelnut macchiato, stirred not shaken, cover the cup in caramel, add two scoops of matcha powder, and two shots of espresso. Double whip with mocha and caramel drizzle but use coconut milk and not whole milk in the drink because I have a dairy allergy.”

Without realizing he was doing it Remus had started reciting the order right back to the aristocratic ass in a very well tailored suit standing across from him about the time he got to the directions about covering the cup in caramel. “Wow I knew my soulmate would be pretentious but I didn’t think he would be as much of an ass as you are. Any way, this one’s on me. Chris will have it ready for you in just a few moments.”

“And I didn’t think my soulmate would be this snarky. My name’s Sirius, when are you off so I can properly get to know you?”

Remus eyed him appraisingly for a moment deciding if he wanted to give him a fair chance. At least Sirius seemed willing to make up for his attitude, and he was easy on the eyes with his dark hair pulled back in a tight bun to show off his stormy grey eyes and the suit he was wearing hinted at an amazing body underneath. “I’m off in an hour.”

“Perfect, I’ll be waiting.” Sirius replied with a wink as he walked over to collect the drink Chris had made for him before claiming a chair by the fireplace where he could drink his coffee and watch Remus work.

As he puttered around the shop cleaning up after customers and making sure all his duties were done so Chris would have an easy closing Remus tried to ignore the feeling of eyes watching him. When the hour was up he hung up his apron and waved goodbye to Chris who was in the middle of arguing with a customer about how it was not possible to do dairy free whipped cream. “So where would you like to go?”

Sirius stepped up behind the shorter man, not quite touching but close enough he was in Remus’s space. “I’d like to take you to dinner and get to know you. There’s this little Chinese place just down the road that has private booths so we can hide away for a bit.”

“Lead the way.” Remus said holding out his hand to Sirius.

Taking the hand with a smile Sirius turned them in the right direction and started walking. “You know I never did catch your name.”

“Remus, my mum named me after some Greek myth.”

“Sounds like we have barmy parents in common then, I was named after a star.”

“That’s not that bad, I’m basically named Wolf Wolf. I loved my mum, but I’m glad she never gave me siblings. I’m sure their names would have been worse.”

“Wolf Wolf?” Sirius questioned as he nudged Remus’s shoulder indicating he should turn right.

“Remus Lupin.”

Sirius blinked at him for a moment before bursting out laughing, “yup definitely Wolf Wolf. So do you turn into one at the full moon? Should I call you Moony for short?”

“Oh bugger off!” Remus laughed, yanking his hand back and pretending to be insulted.

Sirius threw his freed hand around Remus’s shoulders and pulled him against his side as he guided them into a small restaurant. “Hullo Cho, can I get a table for two please? Somewhere in the back if we can?”

“Of course Mr. Black, follow me.” The hostess smiled at the pair of them as she wound through the dining room and led them to a private nook with a curtain over it. “Do you need menus or would you like the chef to decide for you again Mr. Black?”

“Let Chef Huong decide, he’s never disappointed me before. Do you have any allergies Remus?”

“No none at all, and I don’t mind a bit of spice either.” Remus agreed easily.

Cho nodded and bowed slightly to the pair of them before excusing herself, “I will be out shortly with tea and your appetizer.”

After the curtain fluttered shut behind their retreating hostess Remus turned wide eyes on the man sitting across from him. “Black?! Like the family who has a seat on parliament and has done tons of work for AIDs patients?”

“Not like that Black, I am that Black. My brother Regulus died from AIDs about five years ago and I started the charity in his name.”

Remus gaped at him in stunned silence for a few moments before he could speak again. “I’m sorry I called you a pretentious ass.”

“I’m sorry I deserved to be called one. I’m not normally like that, the charity meeting just ran long today and I felt a bit of a headache coming on and desperately needed the caffeine before it got worse.”

“Now I feel like I have to like you,” Remus teased. “You're rich, sexy, and you know when to apologize. Throw in the fact that you are apparently my soul mate and I might well be the luckiest person alive.”

“I’m glad I seem to have changed your opinion of me.” Sirius flirted as he shifted his seat so he was closer to the smaller man.

Before Remus could reply the curtain was pulled aside revealing Cho who set a pot of tea and a plate of small appetizers on the table. “Chef Houng sends his regards Mr. Black. For your first course there are pork dumplings, fried crab rangoons, egg rolls, and fried shrimp with spicy dipping sauce.”

“Thank you Cho, it looks delicious.” Sirius said as he snagged a steaming dumpling off the plate and took a bite. 

Cho again bowed at both of them before slipping back out of their little alcove and leaving them alone once more.

“Yes I would like to give you a chance, give us a chance.” Remus said, choosing not to look at the other man in favor of focusing on pouring cups of tea for both of them. “But before you agree I should warn you that I’m not exactly like most people in your social circles, for one I work two jobs just trying to make ends meet and some months that isn’t enough.”

“I suppose it would be pretentious of me to tell you that you never have to work another day if you don’t want to?” 

“A bit yes. But maybe after a few months we can revisit me working two jobs.” Remus offered. 

“That sounds fair. So other than the coffee shop what do you do?” 

“I’m working part-time in a bookstore just down the street from my university and I am studying to be a paralegal.”

“Okay I’m rescinding my offer of you never having to work another day in your life and instead offering you a position with the legal team for Regulus’s charity.” Sirius said with a smirk. “Would that make you happier than doing nothing?”

Remus beamed at Sirius as he took a bite of one of the fried shrimp. “I could only dream of working with an organization as prestigious as that.”

“It’s not a dream. I’ll have the human resources coordinator draw up an offer for you tomorrow, even if nothing more comes of this dinner I would like to do that much for you.”

Remus choked on the shrimp he was chewing on. “Are you serious? I won’t graduate until next fall, and that is only if I can take a full load of classes the next three terms.”

“Well yes, that is my name.” Sirius teased as he swallowed a bite of egg roll. “But yes, I am serious about the offer as well. Half salary starting Monday if you accept the offer moving to full salary when you graduate. Of course that means we will expect you to help in the office a few days a week.”

All Remus could do was squeak in surprise.

“Before you go getting any funny ideas, this is not because you are my soulmate. We need another set of hands helping sort paperwork and if the bill I’m getting ready to introduce to the parliament goes through we will be bringing on another paralegal next year anyway. This just puts us in a position to get ahead of the game.”

“If you are sure you really want a twenty one year old rookie helping in your office…” 

“I turn twenty two in a month and I’ve been running the charity for three years. I would love to have you there with me to keep the old folks in line. You don’t have to accept right this instant, wait until you see the paperwork tomorrow and decide.”

Remus nodded mutely, running over everything in his head. At the very least he would be able to quit the bookstore to focus on his studies more, and maybe he could even cut back the number of hours at the coffee-shop. Feeling slightly overwhelmed he looked at the man who was giving him space by pretending to be interested in dismantling a crab rangoon, “thank you.”

“Remus forgive me for being a bit forward but I’ve loved you since I first saw your untidy scrawl spelling out half of a coffee order on my arm. Even if I never get the chance to do anything else for you I want to do this.”

Throwing all of his normally cautious tendencies to the wind Remus leaned over to capture Sirius’s lips in a tender kiss.

“Oh I am sorry to interrupt Mr Black. Chef Huong made a spicy egg foo young, beef and broccoli, and chicken fried rice for your main course. ” Cho said setting the dishes quickly on the table before bowing and leaving them to eat.

Sirius barely nodded at the hostess as she explained the dishes then fled, he was too busy trying to wrap his head around what Remus had just done. 

“I’m sorry! I don’t know what came over me! That was terribly forward and probably not even - urmph!” Remus’s rambling apology was cut off by Sirius’s incredibly soft lips pressing against his own.

“Don’t apologize.” Sirius murmured as he broke off the kiss. Sitting back into his chair he again shifted his chair closer to Remus's so they were now touching along the length of their thighs and reached for the plate of egg foo young. “So, what do you like to do outside of working?”

“I actually play in a regional rugby league on the weekends.” Remus said, spearing a piece of broccoli to take a bite.

“Rugby? You don’t seem like the sort to be that aggressive.”

“I take all my anger out on the other teams.”

“So what position do you play?” 

“Full back, I mostly try and avoid being hit.”

Sirius laughed as he offered a bite of egg foo young to Remus, “and how well does that work out for you?”

Remus laughed and shrugged his shoulders as he took the offered bite. 

After that they let the conversation die off as they tucked into their diner, both realizing they were surprisingly hungry. Once their plates were cleaned and they were both groaning from how full they were Sirius looked at Remus curiously. “So are we ending our date here or would you like to come back to my place for a night cap? Maybe watch a movie together?”

“A movie sounds good. What were you thinking?”

“I just picked up a copy of Avatar earlier this week that I haven’t had a chance to watch.” Sirius offered, “and I have a full home theater down stairs. We can pop popcorn and get a bunch of candy and make a nest from the couch cushions.”

“That sounds brilliant!” Remus agreed.

“I also have a very nice guest room, you’re more than welcome to spend the night.” Sirius said, trying not to sound too hopeful.

“I would love to but I don’t drive and I have a class early tomorrow.” 

“I can drive you, and I’ll pick you up after to take you to lunch so you can read over the offer and see if you want to accept.”

“Then if we can swing by my flat I will happily spend the night,” Remus said pulling out his wallet to pay the tab.

“You can get lunch tomorrow, Chef Houng doesn’t let me pay here,” Sirius said with a smile as he stood and offered his hand to Remus.

Remus took the offered hand with a smile. “I’m holding you to that. My flat is only about a block from here, would you like to walk there or pick up your car first?” 

“Let’s pick up my car then get your stuff and head to my house.”

Once they were outside again Remus dropped Sirius’s hand in favor of wrapping an arm around his waist as they headed back towards the coffee shop where his car was parked. “So I didn’t get a chance to ask, what do you do in your spare time?”

“I don’t get much of it but when I do have free time I like watching movies or playing video games. I’m a bit of a nerd and a homebody.” Sirius said with a laugh as he put his arm around Remus’s shoulder and pulled him closer. “ I spend so much time being social at events for the charity and my last name that I don’t often want to deal with people outside of work.”

“Well I’m glad you are willing to spend some of that time coming into the shop so I could meet you.”

“Me too, I’ve actually been hitting up different shops on a semi-regular basis hoping to run into you.” Sirius confessed.

“Well you found me, now you just have to try and keep me.” Remus said as he leaned in and gave Sirius a peck on the cheek. 

Sirius stopped next to a sleek black BMW and pulled Remus into a hug. “I’ll do whatever it takes to make that happen. And I believe the first thing on that list is getting you in this car to take you home to gather your things then taking you back to my house for a movie and a snuggle.” 

“Yup, I’m definitely the luckiest man alive if you like to cuddle.” Remus laughed and gave the taller man another quick kiss before sliding into the car when Sirius opened the door for him.

Sirius laughed and shut the door once he was sure Remus was safely inside and walked around to get in the drivers side. “I’m basically a giant puppy dog, cuddle me and scratch my head and I’m yours for life.”

Remus laughed as Sirius backed the car out of its spot. “Two blocks south then take a left and I live in the block of flats at the third corner on the right. When we get there I’ll run up quickly and grab my book bag and a change of clothes for tomorrow then we can go back to your place and put on a movie and I’ll give you all the head scratches you can handle.”

“Deal!” Sirius agreed happily.


	2. Lasting Impressions

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Six months after they met in a coffee shop Remus and Sirius take some big steps in their relationship.

“Hey Moon, I grabbed a pizza for dinner on my way over. That’s okay right?” Sirius called as he let himself into the flat. Walking into the kitchen he noticed his boyfriend was strangely absent as he set the pizza on the counter. “Remus?”

“Bedroom!” 

“I thought we were waiting for that?” Sirius teased as he snagged a beer from the fridge for each of them and headed down the hall to find Remus.

Remus shook his head with a smile as he popped out of his closet with a very full looking bag of clothes and snagged one of the beers from Sirius. “You’re horrible! Though I don’t really remember why we were waiting, all things considered.”

“I think this is part of it,” Sirius said softly as he set his beer on the end table before dropping to his knee and pulled a small black box out of the pocket of his sports jacket. “I thought about taking you back to the coffee shop where we first met, but that felt too cheesy. Then I considered going back to Chef Houng’s for dinner and doing it there, but that didn’t feel right either. I’ve been trying to decide how to do this for almost a month and in all of that I realized that this was how I wanted to do it. Not making a big deal of it because that’s not who you are. You are quiet moments in our homes, you are simple smiles without a ton of fuss, you are everything to me. So Remus Lupin, will you do me the honor of becoming Remus Black?”

The bag Remus had lugged out of his closet hit the ground with a heavy thud followed by the unopened beer as he saw the simple black titanium band with an emerald cut blue topaz stone shining in the middle. “YES!” He shrieked as he threw himself at Sirius and wrapped his arms around his neck.

Laughing, Sirius let himself be knocked backward onto the carpet by the smaller man. “I love you, Remus.”

“And I love you, Sirius,” Remus replied, leaning down and capturing his lips in a heated kiss as he pressed him into the floor.

Sirius moaned into the kiss and arched his hips into the man on top of him trying to get more contact. After a few more moments of grinding against the smaller man Sirius broke away with a moan. “Moon if you don’t want our first time to be on the floor of your bedroom I suggest you get off me now.” 

“Well, you’ve been using a mythical beast for my pet-name so why not be a little wild.” Remus panted as he ground their hips together and nipped at Sirius’s neck possessively. “Unless you don’t want me, that is?”

With a growl, Sirius wrapped his arms around his fiance's waist and flipped them over. “I’m giving you one last chance to call this off. The sex, the engagement, the dating. Any of it or all of it. Is this what you really want, Remus?”

“Sirius, I want nothing more than to be yours in every sense of the word. There are condoms and lube in the drawer of my nightstand.”

Leaning down he gave Remus one more searing kiss before placing his hands on the smaller man’s waist. Sliding them up his sides, he slowly revealed the golden muscular planes of his stomach. Once the shirt was completely free of Remus’s skin Sirius dropped it to the ground and leaned in to kiss his neck, making the smaller man squirm. “How do you want to do this?”

“I want to feel you inside me, please,” Remus begged as he started unbuttoning Sirius’s shirt from the bottom up. After he freed the last button he pushed the soft grey shirt from Sirius’s shoulders and gently dragged his nails down his partner's chest. “I love that color on you, it really brings out your eyes, but I love you without anything on so much more. You are stunning Sirius, you truly are.”

Smiling brightly, Sirius rolled off Remus to lie next to him so he could more freely explore his bare chest. “I’ve got nothing on you, rugby has done amazing things to your body.” Sirius teased, playfully poking a rather spectacular-looking bruise that was barely peeking over the waistband of Remus’s jeans.

“Hey! Watch it!” Remus yipped laughing. “I may or may not have ticklish hips!”

Sirius smirked as he lightly ran his fingertips along the line of his trousers, just barely dipping below the waistband as he watched Remus’s muscles reacting to his fingers. After a few moments of teasing the skin along his stomach and torso Sirius popped the button on Remus’s jeans and started pushing them off his hips, leaving Remus sprawled on the floor wearing nothing but his boxers.

“You are a bloody tease and you have me at a distinct disadvantage here.” Remus pouted playfully before he reached out and slipped the button of Sirus’s slacks free and tried to push them off his hips.

With a laugh Sirius helped Remus push his pants off, leaving him bare as the day he was born. “Boxers mess up the line of the slacks,” he explained with a shrug.

Remus teasingly brushed his fingers along the bones of Sirius’s hips before dragging his fingers down his thighs, pointedly avoiding the larger man’s already hard prick. “I don’t mind, it gives me better access to the rest of you.”

“And you call me a tease,” Sirius gasped as he tried to twitch into the fingers exploring his skin. 

“This isn’t being a tease,” Remus pointed out with a playful smile before he shifted away from Sirius to pull his boxers off. Once he was naked he shifted to straddled Sirius’s hips so he could reach into the drawer of his bedside table and grab the lube and a condom, making sure to wiggle more than necessary to grind his ass into Sirius’s erection. “This is being a tease, my love.”

Moaning Sirius grabbed onto the man on top of him and pulled him down harder, trying to get more friction on his aching cock. 

Shooting Sirius a wicked smirk Remus dropped the cold tube of lube and the foil wrapped condom on his chest then vaulted onto the bed out of reach. “Well, are you going to join me?” He asked, over his shoulder as he knelt just past the edge of the bed.

Sirius rolled to his knees and bit back a moan when he saw how Remus had positioned himself. “You, my love, are trying to kill me.”

“Not until I take your last name.” Remus laughed, “now are you just going to stare or are you going to help me out here?”

Sirius hauled himself to his feet to crawl on the bed next to Remus. Opening the lube he squeezed a dollop onto his fingers, “have you done this before?” 

“Not with another person, I have played around some though. It never sat right with me going home with someone that wasn’t my soulmate.”

“You’re my first too,” Sirius practically whispered as he teased a finger around Remus’s pucker before unhurriedly pressing a finger in. Slowly he stroked along the channel until he found the spot that made Remus arch back into him with a loud moan. Smiling Sirius slicked another finger and slid it in next to the first, scissoring them carefully to stretch the ring of muscle, making sure to pay plenty of attention to the spot inside that made Remus curse.

“Sirius… more… please… I won’t break… promise…” Remus panted, arching into the fingers inside him.

“One more finger okay?” Sirius murmured as he slicked another finger to finish stretching him. “I know you won’t break but I don’t want to hurt you.”

Remus moaned again as Sirius slid another finger into him, shifting his thighs just a bit wider to give better access. When Sirius removed his fingers Remus arched back trying to find them to fill the sudden emptiness.

“Come here love,” Sirius urged as he stretched out on his back next to Remus and quickly opened a condom and slid it onto himself.

Remus quickly did as he was asked and straddled Sirius’s lap. Reaching behind him he slicked Sirius’s prick with lube then wasted no time in lowering himself on to his lover. “Oh fuck Sirius… fuck… you feel so right… fuck… ”

Grabbing Remus’s hips to pull him flush against his lap Sirius groaned as he was fully enveloped in tight heat. “Bloody hell… perfect… you are fucking perfect…”

Giving up on speaking Remus leaned forward to brace himself on Sirius’s shoulders so he could move his hips in time with the other man’s thrusts. As they found a rhythm the room was filled with breathless moans and the sound of skin slapping against skin. When Sirius wrapped a hand around his neglected prick Remus let out a noise that he would later deny came from his mouth. After a few quick strokes Remus came with a shout of Sirius’s name

Watching his fiance come undone because of him was Sirius’s undoing and mere seconds later he was thrusting in as deep as he could reach and holding Remus tight against him as his world exploded and reformed around him. After Remus collapsed next to him panting Sirius rolled onto his side to gather the other man close. “I love you, Moon, thank you for giving that to me.”

“I love you too Snuffles.” Remus murmured as he snuggled in close and brushed his fingers along the mark on Sirius’s arm that had started this all. “Some days you are still a bit of a pretentious ass but I am so glad you are mine. I am so glad I was able to give myself to you.”

“Will you move in with me?” Sirius blurted out after watching Remus for a few moments.

Remus blinked them slowly smiled at Sirius. “If you really want me there and aren’t just offering because I have to move out of this apartment then happily.”

“I didn’t even know you had to move out.” Sirius half questioned as he peeled the condom off and dropped it into the trash bin Remus kept under his nightstand.

Shrugging like it wasn’t a big deal Remus rolled to get up and get a cloth to clean both of them off. “Got the notice this morning that when my lease renews in two months my rent will go up by close to three hundred dollars. Even with the salary I get from Regulus’s I can’t really afford that so I need to try and find somewhere more affordable.” 

Sirius smiled fondly as he watched Remus gather a washcloth to clean himself off and the box containing his engagement ring before coming back to bed. “Don’t bother applying anywhere else. You are more than welcome with me, and if you don’t want to jump right to sharing a room Grimmauld has a whole floor of empty rooms for you to choose from.”

“I like the idea of sharing a house and a room with you.” Remus promised as he flopped on the bed after cleaning himself up and throwing the washcloth towards the laundry hamper. Offering the ring box to Sirius he smiled even wider, “now are you going to put this on me?”

Thumbing open the box Sirius pulled out the band and slid it onto Remus’s left ring finger. “I’m so glad I guessed the size right. It looks perfect on you.”

“You have amazing taste.” Remus half agreed as he looked at the band on his hand. “Why the blue stone?”

“It’s my birthstone, blue topaz.” Sirius replied, lacing their fingers together and pulling Remus’s hand up to his mouth to place a soft kiss on his finger right below the ring. “They told me they could make a matching ring with aquamarine if we wanted to go that direction for the wedding bands.”

“I don’t want any other ring than this one, and I love the idea of us having matching bands with each other's birthstones.” 

“Then I will order mine once we choose a date for the wedding. I already know who my best man will be,” Sirius admitted with a grin.

Remus laughed and propped himself against the headboard, holding his arms open for Sirius. “That makes me feel better, I picked mine ages ago when we first started getting serious. Though I suppose mine is more of a best woman.”

“Your friend Lily?” Sirius asked as he snuggled into Remus’s chest and reached for the remote to turn on a movie. “If so that would be perfect, I want my mate James to be my best man and we could try and set them up.”

“Hmm, they would make a good match.” Remus mused as he absently stroked his fingers through Sirius’s hair that had come loose during their activities.

“So that’s a yes?”

“That’s a yes as long as we can have a red and gold wedding.” Remus bargained, “that was my parent's wedding colors and since they can’t be there I want to do something for them.”

“Red and gold would be brilliant, much better than the green and silver that is my families colors.” Sirius agreed. “It’s April now, think we could plan a wedding in eight months and do a Christmas time wedding?”

“I know we can,” Remus said confidently. Before he could say anything else about the wedding planning his stomach grumbled loudly. “Oh bugger, we were supposed to do dinner weren’t we?”

“I brought pizza and left it in the kitchen. Want to eat in bed tonight?”

“If you get it I’ll get up and put in the new Iron Man movie in for us.” 

Sirius laughed and rolled out of bed to go grab the almost forgotten pizza and a couple plates. Returning to the room he leaned against the door and watched Remus fiddle with the DVD player with a smile on his face. No this wasn’t how he imagined his life as the heir to the Black family fortunes going but all in all he was happy with it.


End file.
